AFVOA Newletters of Year 2013

Page 37 of 61 ANECDOTES FROM MEMORY LANE MONKEY TRICKS by Lt Gen C Sundara Rao, PVSM In 1945-47. I was the Workshop Officer in the rank of Capt of 138 Mobile Workshop Company IEME, which was located in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar). The OC of Company was Maj White (MW). There was another British officer in the rank of Capt in the unit and he had a monkey as his pet. This monkey was normally tied to a tree, with a long rope, near to the parking area for repaired vehicles. One morning a Warrant Officer of the British Fire Fighting Service brought a Fire Fighting Vehicle to the Workshop. The vehicle had a set of 12 Volt batteries to provide power supply to the vehicle for its operations. As 12 Volt batteries were not easily available, he requested replacement by 6 Volt batteries. I told him that in view of urgency for this work I would have the modification completed by the same evening. He informed me that the vehicle would be collected by a Warrant Officer in the evening. The task was completed by the scheduled time and I was waiting in my hockey outfit for its collection. MW saw me and enquired why I had not gone to play. When I gave him the reason he told me to go to play after instructing the Duty Guard to deliver the vehicle when the Warrant Officer came to collect it. I went off to play and forgot all about the vehicle. Next day, when I was at work i was told that a British Major wished to see me. I met the burly Irish Major (BIM) with a flaming red mustache. He was OC of the British Fire Fighting Unit. He asked me ‘Did you see the repaired Fire Fighting Vehicle before it was handed over to my Warrant Officer?'. When I confirmed that I had seen it, he shouted at me 'You ought to be ashamed of yourself. I wish to see your OC’. I took him to my OC and the following conversation took place. BIM. ‘You should be disgusted with the shoddy repair work done by your workshop. Many of the wires from the batteries were lying loose in my vehicle'. MW put out a questioning look at me. Suddenly a thought came into my mind and I whispered in his ear 'I think the monkey must have pulled some of the wires’ MW burst out with loud laughter. BIM: This is no laughing matter. Imagine what would have happened if there had been a fire in your workshop'. MW: 'No problem at all. We would have used your vehicle to put off the fire' BIM left the office shouting, ‘i will report this matter to higher authorities'. We all had a good laugh thinking of the monkey and its tricks. +++++++++++++++++++